Nurse Practitioners Key In Primary Care

August 23, 2013|Letter to the editor

Regarding "White Coats for First Class of Medical Students at Quinnipiac" [Aug. 16, http://www.courant.com]: It is good that Quinnipiac plans that at least half of its students will go on to practice primary care.

For as the American Medical Association reported recently a shortage of about 60,000 primary care physicians will be expected by 2020. It will be impossible however to fill that need with primary care physicians alone and it is likely that nurse practitioners practicing independently will be providing some services as well.

Nurse practitioners already can practice independently in 16 states. In Connecticut they must practice under the supervision of a physician. The Institute of Medicine believes that nurse practitioners can practice independently if they stay within the limits of their training and education. And the National Committee for Quality Assurance also recognizes nurse-led "medical homes."

The point is that innovative ways to increase access to primary care are desperately needed. The rate of burnout among primary care doctors is high and increasing their work load will make it impossible for them to practice safely. And the problem becomes more acute considering that the Affordable Care Act will add about 30 million new patients seeking access to the health system. The writer practices family medicine.